Protective device for street-cars.



1.1. E. F. CRBIYGHTON'. Pam-ECTIVLDBVIGE Pon STREET GARS. APPLICATION FILED IUHE 7, 1912.

2,0?8A31 Y PatentedNev. 11,1913.

Witnesses: Inventor;

25mg' M Elmerrcfei htm,

n L Hsfttorne5.

UNITEB STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ELMEB E. E. CREIGHTON, 0F SCHENECTADY, NEW .-YOBK, ASSIGNORTO GENERAL v ELECTRIC COMPANY, ACORPORATION 0Fv NEW YORK. .A

PROTECTIVE DEVICE ron STREET-cans.

To allwhomz't may concern Beit known. that I, Eni-uan E. l?. Chinon TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county ofS'chenec'tady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inProtective Deand having a discharge path consisting inl part of electrolytic cells or vsimilar devices which mustbe connected at intervals to a source of potential in order to keep vthem in operative condition. Y Satisfactory protection of the motors of stre-et cars against lightning is diiiicu1t if' lightning arresters of the ordinary spark gap type are used, as the normaloperating` voltage. is so lowthat great ldifficulty is experienced in making a spark gap arresterof the usual type which .will break down quickly upon a slight rise/in voltagefabove normal and which will at the same time be rugged and durable enough to Withstandgthe ti usage to which it is subjected when har mounted' uponn street car. In order that the spark gapv arrester may ot be rendered inoperative by dust, dirt, a d splashing of metal in the spark discharge; the gaps are Y usually made solarge that a very considerable rise in voltage is necessary before the gaps will break down and permit the light-Y ning to discharge to ground, and-as a\ consequence of the time required to breakdown sucha gap, the motors are often injured even though, the spark gapy arresters'are in. 'good condition. lllectroly'tic cells can easily bev proportioned to `discharge at a voltage very slightly above thc normal operating voltage of a street car and when discharging will permit such alarge flow of current that the motors are well protected. The electrolytie cellsl consist essentially ot aluminum electrodes immersed a 'suitable electrolyte and covered with an insulating vfilm which must be maintained i'n good condi i tion inforder that the cell may be operative. vIn order to maintain the insulating film on ltion of the car.-

source of voltage, but eiectrolytic'cells installed on a street car are apt to be rendered inoperative by neglect and by failure to charge themjoften `enough to maintain the film in operative condition. For.l this reason electrolytic cells have not heretofore been used to any considerable` extent as protective devices formotors onstreet'cars.

The object' of my invention .is to Specification of Letters Patent. Pat'entdNv, 11, 1913,' Applicatie-.1 med 'June v, 1912. serial Na. 762,223.

rovide; means by which `electrolyticprotective-de- -vi ce's for' systems supplying translating'devices, such as motors, are automatically vmaintained in good condition withoutamv manipulation on the' part of the operator l' other than that incidental to the operation.-

of the translating devices.

Another object is to provide an velectrotion'merely as a result of the normal opera- A further, object is to divert the as much as possible vaway from thev tra-nslytic protector for street 'cars which will be automatically maintained in proper condi-A lating devices and into-'the electrolytic lprotective'device, andin general toprovide an vimprovement in devices of the character described.

use .of the translating devices, so that` the operator-'of the devices necessarily and with out attention or care on his part, chargesthe some/means which will automatically. -con-.

nect'thel electrolytic -cells to the line and charge them whenever the can is started or stopped or whenever there is a suiiicient' i To this end, I'provide .means b vwhich the. velectrolytic cells` areautomatical charged as a result of the'nor'mal manipu ation. and.

variation in its speedw .During storms .especially good lprotection mayj-b'e securedat will hy 'directly connecting tlie'cellstofthcv line and therebyeliminating the sparktgap which is normally in series with them." :In some cases the desired objectfmayA be attained by some'form of device which automatically closes the circuit of the 'electrolytic` cells whenever thecurrent suppliedto the. translating devices `varies tolaconsidrahleextent, or -xvhenever the vvcontiol apparatus of the .translating l( levi'ce'..is ,l0."

manipulated. When an electrorespon's'iv protective -device embodying my invention g A Fig. 2 is a -diagram showing theeonneefions of one form of my invention; l-1g. 3 is a diagram showing another forni o f charging switch bywhich the clect-rolytic cells are i. 'automatically charged bythe startingand stopping of the car; at and 5 lare dia-- grams showing.connectionsv by 'which the electrolytie cells' are automaticallyfcharged. in response to the closing 'and' opening of the circuit through the motors; and Fig. 6 is a diagram of a form of device by which the electrolytic cells are ail'tcnnatioallv ronnected direct to the line for a predefcrminml -periothsay a half hour, wliencver lightning appears on the line.

In the particular arrangement shown the drawings the protective device mounted on the streetl car in a box -1 which, as' shownin Fig.- lfmay conveniently be below the Hoor of the car but .which may be `mounted in any convenient place on the ear so long as the automatic charging mechanism is freeto operate.

stood' by referring to Fig. '2, which show's "diagraimnatically the relation and connections of the various parts of the device.'

The electrolytie cells, consisting if siiirable receptacles?. containing an electrolyte and aluminum electrodes' 3, are connected A in series between the trolley andground.

The distributionof current between the cells is controlled by balancing resistanees et in shunt to the electrodes o'r' the cells. The cells are connected to the trolley through a spark gap 5 of the vacuum type, consisting of a suit-able vessel which contains electrodes 6 properly spaced and `which is exhausted to Vsuch an extent that a voltage slightly above the normal "mirage of the trolley', will break down` the gap between the electrodes G and establish a conducting path toground) A voltage sntlicientv to break down the spark gap 1s high enough to cause a free flowA through the eleetrolytir` cells and consequently there is a dischargepath to ground as long as the voltage of the trolley is above normal. As soon as the voltage becomes.

normal, the insulating films on the electrodes of the electrolytic cells stop the flow of curV rent.

It is not advisable to connect the electrolytic cells directly to the trolley at alltimes,

The connections of the protective device will best be underdirectlyV to the trolley'during the continuance of storms or similar disturbances and I, therefore, provide a switch 'i' by means of which, at will, the spark gap 5 may be short circuited and the electrolytic cells connected directly to the trolley. v

' The insulating. films on the electrodes of the electrolytic cells will gradually dissolve and the cells will become inoperative unless the cells are charged andthe films reformed hyeonnecting the cells at intervals. -to a source o'f potential, such as the trolley, Experience has shown that manual charging of the cells cannot bel depended' upon, as through oversight or neglect the charging ofthe cells is omitted so often that the'cells are not kept in proper condition. To overcome this ditiiculty, I. provide means by which the 'cells -arel automaticallyconnectecl l.

to the trolley every time the' car isjst'arted vor .stopped so thatthc. cells are. kept charged and the films ingoodcondition without any attention on the part of the Yman in charge of the car. Various forms of automatic devices may be' used to automatically eliminate the spark gap 5 and connect the cells'directly to the line-at intervals. In the pre- -ferred constructiom-as shown in thejdrawings, the spark gap "is shunted by 'a charging circuit containing a charging resistance 8'for limiting the flow of currentthrough' the elcctrolytic cells while the films are' being reformed. anda charging switch or circuit controlling clerice'which will automatically eliminate the spark gap by closing the' shunt charging circuitaround the spark gap. The automatic charging switch?v may be closed automatically either by its own inertia in response to the starting orstopping of thc car or .by responding to variations in current 'Flow through the motor, so that every time the motor is started or stopped the ehargingcircuit will be closed. As the charging of the cells is completed in a very 'short space of time, all that is necessary to keep the .cells in good condition is that the. `charging circuit be momentarily closed at intervals during the operation of the car.

The particular form of charging switch, shown in Fig. 2, for controlling the charging circuit comprises a body of mercury 9 contained in a -vessel 10 which is provided' lat each end with electrodes 11 and 12. The

vessel 10 is slightly inclined and theamountof. mercury 9 is Vso-'ohosen that it can touch both electrodes 11 and 12A and form a con-v ducting bridge between them. Normally the mercury occupies the position shwn in the figure and is in contact with the electrode l2, but`outof contact with" the electrode 11,'so that the' charging circuit is open. When lthe car suddenly varies 'its speed,asiii stopping or starting, the mei*- cury 9 by its inertia moves into engagement with the electrode 11 while still touching the electrodel12, thereby closing the charging circuit Aand formi-ng the films on the electrolytic cells.' As soon as the speed ci the car becomes uniform or the car stops, the mercury drops back into the position shoivn f in the figure and the charging circuit is opened.

The .particulargfoi'm of charging switch shown in Fig. 3 has a pendulum 13 mounted to swing into engagement with a contact 14 and to close the charging circuit as long as it is in engagement with said contact.l Normally the lpendulpm occupies the position shown in full lines, but as the car stOps or starts, as the.. case-may be, it swings` into the position shown in dotted lines and momentarily closes the charging circuit.

In both of the forms of char ing switch Aoperated by their own inertia in response to the starting and ,stopping of the car, the

y charge path, by an electroresponsive device which closesthe charging circuit whenever current 'is supplied to or is cut otf from the apparatus *which is to-be protected.' One form of device by which this result may be obtained 'isfshown in Figs. 4 and', in which the contacts 15 in the charging circuit are momentarily bridged by the bridging contact 16 whenever current is supplied to the motors o'r 'whenever the current is cut eff from themotors. This result is obtained by an electroresponsive device which will automatically move the bridging contact 16 over the( contacts I15 whenever the current is turned on or wheneverit is .cut off. The p'articular form of electrorespon'sive device *shown inthe drawings'comprises an arma- `4ture or core'- 17 onwhich the bridging contact- 16 is mounted'4 and this armature or core is lifted'by a coil 18 which may be connected directly in series with the trolley, as shown in, Fig. 5,' or'connected to` it through a transformer 19, as shown in Fig. 4. Then no currentis yflo\ving,the armature or core 17 isi-in.' -t-he position shown in full lines.

Vhen the circuit of the motor is closed sufficientcurrentktiows throughthe solenoid 18 to litt the' armature into the position shown, in dottedlines-rso that-.the charging circuit is closed for an instant as the bridging con` tact 16 passes between the contacts 15. As long' as current is V flowing through the motoi', the arniaturc or core is in the position shown in dotted lines and the charging circuit is open. Then current is cut QH from the motor the armature 17 andbridging Contact 16 drop back into the position shown in full lines, momentarily closing.. fthe charging circuit as they return to theiltull 4line position. Both the transformerl) and solenoid 18 act as choke coils to keep lightning out of the motors and coinpel it to pass to ground through the protective device.

'The arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is not limited to street cars and similar vehicles but may be used with advantage in many cases Where protective devices-consist ing of electrolytic cells are used to protect apparatus, such as motors or similar translating devices, which are started and stopped during the day. In such cases the arrange' nient of my invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may advanta' eously be used to insure that the protect-ive evice is always in operative condition. y

In order that the full value of the protective device may he secured in spite of neglect and carelessness on the. part of the operator. 1 provide means for automatically connecting the electrolytic conde-users di rectly to the lineupon the appearance ota storm close enough to theline to produce abnormal voltages, surges or oscillations upon the liiieand then automatically disconnect the electrolytic -condensers from the line after a definite period. which is usually sonicwhat longci' than the average duration ot storms. In most cases it ivill be suflicient to keep' the condensers connected directly to the line for a period of about a half hour after the first appearance of lightning or other abnormal disturbances upon the line.

Various means may be utilized fo autoniatii ill connecting the electrolytil condensers in the desired Way.

niatically in Fig. 6, innvhich the spark vgap 5 is shunted by a charging circi it controlled by the automatic charginv swxitch' 10 and is also shunted by a low ii'esis n'ce circuiti` controlled by a switch 20, which by its clos-v ing connects the electrolytic c lls directly from the line and eliminates'th spark gap The switch 20 is held closed r a definite period of time and is then opened by any suitable time limit mechanism, such as clock workv 21 which drives a controlling disk 22 provided with a notch in its periphery. Under normal conditions. the disk '22 `and the clock mechanism vis held against rotation b v a dctent 23 made in the form of a pivoted armature. Aslong as the detent or armature .23 is in the notch of the disk 22, as shown in the figure, the switch 20 is open and the clockwork isheld against movement.- In order. to release the clockwork and close the switclig piotdepoine One ari'angement which may he used is shown diagramp in toinatically electroresponsive nieansivliipih will lift the,

detent or armature 23 out vof the notch in the disk 22 upon thc occurrence of lightning or other abnormal conditions on the line. The preferred arrangement for ac complishing this result comprises an elec= tromagnet 24 mounted so as to lift the armature 23 when energized and connected in a local circuit'containing some suitable source. of current, such as a battery 25. Upon :the

appearance of lighting on the'iine the local circuit through the electromagnet 24 is automatically closed by a coherer 26 which is connectedat one end to ground and at the other end through a condenser to the discharge path through the electrolytic cells. Upon the first disturbance upon the dis-v charge path, which may take place before.

a. discharge has passed through the gap 5, if there is lightning upon theglinewhen the charging switch is closed, the coherer 26 closes the local circuit and energizes the electromagnet 24., As the armaturef23 is lifted by the electromagnet, the switch 2() is f' closed and at the same time. the disk' 22 is released and begins to rotate. =T he switch 20 cannot open until the disk has moved far enough to bring the notch in the disk beneath the detent 23, whereupon the switch 20 automaticallyv opens and the disk is held by the detent ready for another operation.

My invention may be embodied in many other forms thanthat disclosed and I, therefore, do not limit my invention to the precise arrangement described except in so far as it is limited by the scope of the appended claims. y

What I claim 1. In -a protective-device-for translating devices, the combination of a discharge path comprising an electrolytic condenser and a spark gap in series, and means responsive of means responsive to variations in thel bodily movement of said protective device for'eli'minatingsaid spark gap during said variation.

4. In a protective device mounted for bodily movement, the combination with a discharge path comprising an electrolylic condenser alida spark gap in series therewith,

as new and desire to securev by Letters Patent ofthe United States, ils

of a shunt circuit around said Vspark gap, and means for automatically holding sald` shunt circuit closed durin the speed' of movemento said protective device. j.l In a protective devicemounted for bodily movement,.the combination with a -discharge path comprising an. electrolytic cony vdenser and a spark' ap in series therewith, of a normally open s unt-circuit ground the spark gap, and a member vfreely movable by its momentum linto positionjto momentarily close said shunt circuit, n 6. -In a'protective device, the combination with a dischargepath' containing an electrolytic condenser .having a' spark gap inA series, of a shunt circuit around said spark gap, and avcircuit controlling member in said circuit open but movable by its momen-v tum into circuiticlosing position. l 7. A protective device for electric .apparatus comprisingajdischarge path containing an electrolyt-ic condenser', a spark gap in series therewith, and means actuated' by variations inthe speed of the apparatus! for temporarily eliminating said spark gap A and thereby maintaining saiddischarge path in operative condition. 1

8; A protective device forelectric motors` comprising a d ischa.rge path an electrolytic condenser, appai'kf" p in seriesI ing or stopping of the motor.forJautomati-- cally eliminating said'sparl; gap during the starting or stopping ofsaid motor.. v

combination of a .discharge path consisting of an electrolytic condenser and a spark' gap in series therewith, a shunt circuit around said spark` gap', and a circuit controlling member vfor said `shunt circuit mounted to of circuit closing position in response tothe starting or stoppingof said vehicle, i.

10. A protective `device.5comprising an electrolytic condenser; having a spark gap in series, an automatic `charging switch actuated by momentum to-temporarily'close a shunt circuit around said gap, and means for at will closing a second shunt circuit around'V said gap to connect for asAlong-avperiod as desired said condenser directly vto the system to be protected.

11. A protectivedevice comprising a pluwith a balancing resistance' inshunt-'to each condenser; a spark gap in series with said condensers, an automatic charging switch actuated by momentum to temporarily close a shunt circuit aro'und said gap, ndmeansf for at will closing a second shunt circuit around said gap to connect for as long a period as desired said condenser directly lo the system to be protected.

a variation in c said shunt circuit normally biased to keepVH 1 therewith, and means responsive to the starti `9. In a protective'devicefor vehicles, the

move freely by-its momentuminto and ont I rality of electrolytic condensers in.ser 1esV Y' l2. A protective device comprising an 1n witness whereof l have hereunto set electrolytic condenser having a spark gap my hand 4this 6th day of June, 1912.

in Series7 and time limit mechanism set in ELMER F F CREIGHTON action by the appearance of lightning in the j' l system to be protected for automatically lVitnesses:

eliminating. said spark gap for a predeter- BENJAMIN B. HULL, mined length of time. HELEN ORFORD. 

